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The 16th Weather Squadron is leading the way, reorganizing to become the 557th Weather Wing’s dedicated software and innovation squadron, a move that will generate new insights on environmental intelligence for combatant commanders around the globe. When complete, the reorganization will reinforce 16th WS’s culture of science and technological innovation and warfighter ethos, contributing to the National Defense Strategy’s line of effort to reform the Defense Department for greater lethality and performance.

The 557th Weather Wing has been reassigned to the Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber).
The reassignment ceremony, held at the 557th WW’s headquarters here Oct. 29, was attended by commanders from Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) and Twelfth Air Force (Air Forces Southern), its former Numbered Air Force.
The 557th WW joins the 55th Wing and other units whose missions fall under the new Information Warfare NAF.
“The 557th operates a truly global and data-driven enterprise,” said Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) commander. “On a daily basis, your Airmen exploit a worldwide network of sensors, processing mass quantities of data, connected to a communications network capable of disseminating weather intelligence at the speed of decision to create outcomes for joint commanders.”

In what was an absolute surprise to all of them, 82 people from Southeastern Minnesota toured Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, Sept. 19, 2019. The visit was part of three-day mystery tour to Western Iowa and Eastern Nebraska offered by Home Federal Savings Bank, a local bank. “When they left Rochester they had no idea where they were going, not even to the state,” said Jean Jech, director of Home Federal Savings Bank’s Jubilee Travel Club. “Several of them bring maps of four different states, trying to figure out which way we’re going.” The visit to Offutt AFB included mission and historical briefings at the 557th Weather Wing as well as lunch at the King Dining Facility. Members of the group also had the opportunity to speak with Airmen who have recently deployed.

Instructors from the 2nd Combat Weather Systems Squadron took on an unusual set of students, a class composed entirely of Airmen from a single unit. Airmen from the 25th Operational Weather Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, attended the Deployed Weather Systems Training class at Hurlburt Field, Florida, as part of pre-deployment training Aug. 19-22, 2019. It is unusual to have a DWST class made up entirely of personnel from one unit. Classes are normally made up of students from several different weather squadrons but as the 557th WW is tasked to execute a greater number of deployment requirements, future DWST classes made up of one squadron may become more common. The 2nd CWSS is a combat-ready test and training squadron that combines maintenance, cyber and weather specialties, within the 557th Weather Wing, that cultivates advanced maintenance skills and operational expertise among its members for use on fielded tactical weather systems employed at downrange locations.

The 557th Weather Wing completed its first operational readiness exercise since standing up as an Air Combat Command wing.
Held Aug. 19-23, Operational Readiness Exercise - Steel Colander tested the wing’s ability to deliver weather intelligence in a contested, degraded and operationally-limited environment. “We exercised not only wing capabilities located on Offutt Air Force Base, but also those of our geographically-separated units worldwide, to include all our operational weather squadrons,” said Ted Vroman, a 557th WW Plans and Programs exercise planner. The Air Force Weather Agency, a field operating agency, deactivated in 2015 when the 557th WW stood up. Conversion from a FOA to an operational wing removed many non-operational functions from the organization, leaving the wing an operations-focused entity and in the position to benefit from comprehensive operational readiness exercises.

Seventy-five years ago, Allied forces began the task of opening the second front in Europe when they landed on the beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944.
Weather was a key factor in deciding when and where the invasion would take place. There were competing priorities when selecting the desired conditions for the invasion.
“You have to think of all the many varied platforms that would be used to launch the offensive, each one needed certain conditions,” said Kent Sieg, 557th Weather Wing historian. “Bombers needed clear sight to targets. Tides had to be low to expose obstacles, but could not be too low or troops would have too long a distance to get to shore.”
Selecting a date that would be the best compromise for these requirements was the challenge. The time determined to be most favorable for an offensive was a full moon. Had Stagg and his team delayed the invasion until the next full moon, June 19, Allied forces would have faced one of the largest storms in the English Channel in almost 80 years and D-Day may have very well failed.

Editor’s note: This is the first in a four part series of articles on the solar observatory. Just as local weather flights provide the base command post notifications and alerts of heat stress, thunderstorms, or high winds, the Holloman Air Force Base Solar Observatory has provided Department of Defense agencies similar notifications. Holloman is

This is the first of a series highlighting innovations by the 557th Weather Wing’s 2nd Weather Group.
After only six months of in-house development, the 2nd WXG’s 14th Weather Squadron in Asheville, North Carolina, introduced their Climate Go-Kit, a new tool for weather forecasters to prepare for operations in Contested, Degraded or Operationally-limited, known as CDO, environments.
The go-kit’s development aligns with three Air Force priorities: to drive innovation, restore readiness and cost-effectively modernize.
“Go-kits provide climate information about a country directly to the warfighter,” said Master Sgt. Kenneth Elwood, 14th WS systems flight chief. “Users can use the information to help familiarize themselves with the country’s climate; answer planning and general climate type questions; and develop forecasts, to name just a few.”
The 14th WS is the Air Force’s only climate operations unit, co-located with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information. The 14th WS collects, protects and exploits authoritative climate data to optimize military and intelligence operations and planning worldwide.

The 557th Weather Wing joined the 55th Wing, Offutt Air Force Base’s host wing, for the Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc.
Twenty-one Airmen from the 2nd Systems Operations Squadron, 2nd Weather Squadron and 16th Weather Squadron joined approximately 600 other Offutt AFB Airmen for the late January exercise, marking the first time the wing has partnered with the 55th WG for a mass readiness exercise since the 557th WW’s creation in 2015.
“The 557 WW demonstrated its capability to deliver ready weather and cyber forces in support of multi-domain operations against any adversary across the entire spectrum of conflict,” said Lt Col. Kenneth Roberts, 2nd Weather Support Squadron commander and 557th WW Crisis Action Team representative for the exercise.
This first phase of the exercise focused on pre-deployment preparations, getting Airmen ready to deploy and moving cargo. Phase two will continue in the spring.

Surrounded by historic aircraft in the main hangar of the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tuscon, Arizona, the 25th Operational Weather Squadron celebrated its 75th anniversary Nov. 2, 2018. Originally known as the 25th Weather Squadron, the unit provided weather support to Army and Army Air Corps units operating and training throughout the Northeastern U.S. from an office building on New York’s Long Island.